Harbinger of Hope and Happiness for the Underprivileged and Downbeat
Passionate about helping people, Demetra Davis shares her story of how life taught her that it is full of surprises and one must keep pushing through to make it to the end. Life has taught her how nothing is about the ‘One’ and everything is about the ‘All’. In her younger days, her mother and elder brother all three looked out for each other, an ‘all for one’ and ‘on for all’ concept. The same works for business when we make partnerships and develop working relationships in our business; it’s all about looking out for each other. As soon as there is discord within the ‘house’ of business, the framework and foundation begin to shake and come apart—all for one and one for all. Demetra believes in helping those who think about taking their own lives, those who live in the lower socio-economic neighbourhood, and those who may need additional resources to enjoy being outdoors with their family. She shares how the black population is predisposed to high blood pressure, cardiac diseases and stroke, and the brown population is the same, in addition to diabetes. “I would love to see Tennessee begin seeing savings on a state level where people are not going to the physician’s offices and/or Emergency Department as much, and the state can record savings there and an increase in their overall parks and recreation usage.”
Started in 2018, Gordavi LLC is a flagship company that was created by trying to develop a mobile app. She and her company wanted to develop an app to assist with making wedding planning a much easier and visually appealing process. Gordavi was always to be a business consulting agency, and Demetra succeeded in the drive to do so. They help businesses get started from the ground up by establishing the needed LLC, non-profit, S or C Corp, whatever is required. In 2020, the government contracting process began, and since then, the company has become a certified woman-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and minority business enterprise entity. Take20ForLife Inc. was the first non-profit added to their portfolio. It is a suicide prevention and intervention initiative focused on education and, in the future, actually treating patients struggling with the many diagnoses and symptoms that may lead them to consider suicide as an option. In September 2022, Tennessee Urban Outdoors Inc. was born, and this organization aims to facilitate the black and brown population by getting outside and being active to increase well-being and overall health. It aims to have an after school program, a brick-and-mortar facility located in the beautiful hills of Tennessee, so they can sponsor single, marriage, church, and youth group retreats and encourage outdoor activities.
Demetra Davis is an honourably discharged veteran of the United States Air Force. After leaving the military, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Centre and later her Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Columbia Southern University in Alabama. She realizes how her ‘people skills” were inadequate and believes that she should have done things differently by thanking people more, recognizing more and counseling more, which she didn’t due to her own fear. Loss of vision has been her biggest challenge. Diagnosed with glaucoma in her 30s, she began losing her eyesight and within the first few years, her peripheral vision was almost completely gone. Frequent headaches and lighting causing strain to the eyes would make her daily functioning challenging. Realizing that she couldn’t work being in the hospital any longer, she went back to school in 2016 to obtain another Master’s degree in Nursing, specializing in education. Despite the challenges, all of this has been a tremendous feat, and she believes that God kept her going through it all. As a Christian, she knows, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”
Legacy inspires Demetra, as she is motivated by her grandmother, Vivian Dooley, who was an entrepreneur when Black women in businesses weren’t supposed to exist, and her mother, Janice Beard, who is a strong Black woman and also her daughter who helps her stay focused. She has authored quite a few books and loves writing poetry and children’s books as well. Demetra was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, the National Honor Society for Nursing, in 1994; has been a lifetime member of the NAACP; a member of the US Women’s Chamber of Commerce; has the certifications for Gordavi, LLC that have been obtained; has been anonymously nominated for the International Association of Top Performers for the Top CEO of the Year for 2023 and many more. Lastly, she exclaims how challenges come and go, even wealth, but people matter the most.
“Family. Legacy. Having a business is building a part of your legacy. What are you leaving behind for others to carry forward, not just in your name but in the collective name of our family for generations to come.” For her, business is a commitment to care about our impression on those around us so that they continue wanting to come back – to invest in us as we invest in them.
